For the legislative and political week November 7-11
Welcome to the November 7-11 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute from your NFIB small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.
Happy Election Day
- It’s over tomorrow. Are you voting at the last minute? NFIB’s Voter Guide for California can help speed it along.
Water
- Last week, NFIB California joined the Solve the Water Crisis coalition, which aims to educate policymakers that the current drought is the worst ever and is a full-blown crisis.
- The coalition has produced three, single pages of informational graphics and a guest editorial that ran in the Orange County Register that will acquaint everyone about the potential catastrophe ahead.
— Major Changes Need to be Enacted to Ensure an Adequate and Reliable Water Supply
— California Water Crisis is Leading to Statewide Catastrophe
— New Plan is a Step in the Right Direction but the State Needs Much More
— California Water Supply Crisis is Much More Than This Drought (Editorial)
- Before Joining the coalition, NFIB California was also focusing on the water issue, both on the federal and state fronts.
Cal/OSHA
- Speaking of coalitions, NFIB joined with 112 other groups and associations on this letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Board about its 15-day change notice on a proposed non-emergency COVID-19 Standard.
- “We believe that creating state-wide sick leave across all industries for a nonworkplace-specific disease (such as COVID-19) is the proper prerogative of the Legislature – not Cal/OSHA,” said the eight-page letter. “Though we understand the extreme circumstances that led to such exclusion pay as an emergency measure when the pandemic was in its most dangerous phase, we do not believe it is proper for Cal/OSHA to exceed its scope in this way on a non-emergency basis.”
“Business exodus from California is accelerating quickly”
- The above headline comes from a San Francisco Chronicle story on a new Hoover Institution report that found, “Businesses headquartered in the Golden State fled at twice the rate last year than they did in 2020 and 2019, and at three times the rate of 2018.”
- Writes the Chronicle, “While moves by marquee companies such as Tesla, Oracle and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which have relocated their headquarters (if not their entire operations) grab headlines, the report found smaller companies are increasingly looking for the exit as well.
- “’Why are companies leaving? Economics, plain and simple, [Lee] Ohanian and [Joseph] Vranich [the report’s researchers] wrote. California state and local economic policies have raised business costs to levels that are so high businesses are choosing to leave behind the many economic benefits of being in California and move to states with better business climates featuring much less regulation, much lower taxes, and lower living costs.’”
NFIB California in the News
- The Southern California Record interviewed State Director John Kabateck for a story about NFIB California’s legislative voting record for the 2021-2022 session.
NFIB National
Highlights from NFIB Legislative Program Manager Caitlin Lanzara’s weekly report
- On November 3rd, NFIB released the latest NFIB Jobs Report, which showed small business owners continue to struggle with labor issues as 23% of owners report labor quality as their top business problem, second to inflation. Read NFIB’s press release here.
- On November 3rd, NFIB Federal Government Relations Director Jeff Brabant penned an Op-Ed in the Washington Times: “Congress Can Stop Credit Card Companies from Squeezing Small Business.” Read NFIB’s press release here.
- On November 3rd, NFIB released an article on DOL’s new proposed rule on independent contractors, read it here. Under the proposed rule, employers would need to consider the totality of six economic factors when determining a worker’s status as an employee or an independent contractor.
- On October 31st, the NFIB Small Business Legal Center released the October monthly report of “The Docket.”
- NFIB also produced a new Guide to Wage and Hour Laws. You can download a copy here.
- Speaking of wage and hour, our November 2nd Wednesday Webinar focused on that challenging topic, watch it here.
- And, if that wasn’t enough wage and hour, there’s more! Learn about the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule on independent contractors, “Independent contractor today, employee tomorrow?” Read more here.
Next Main Street Minute November 14.
